Minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures have become more common using robotic (e.g., telerobotic) surgical systems. An endoscopic camera is typically used to provide images to a surgeon of the surgical cavity so that the surgeon can manipulate robotic surgical tools therein. However if the robotic surgical tool is not in the field of view of the camera or it is otherwise hidden by tissue or other surgical tools, a surgeon may be left guessing how to move the robotic surgical tool when it is obscured from his view.
Moreover, tissue or organs of interest in a surgical cavity are often obscured from view. A surgeon may have to initially guess the location of an organ of interest within a surgical cavity and search around therein to place the organ and the robotic surgical tools within a field view of the endoscopic camera.
To better localize a surgical tool in the field of view, optical devices, such as light emitting diodes, have been attached to robotic surgical tools. However, optical devices can interfere with endoscopic surgical procedures and may not provide sufficiently accurate position and orientation information for a minimally invasive surgical system. A magnetic device may be applied to a robotic surgical tool in an attempt to magnetically sense its location. However, robotic surgical tools are often formed of metal and a magnetic device may not work well due to the interference generated by the movement of metal-tools and electrical motors in a minimally invasive surgical system. Moreover, these may provide only a single clue of the position of a robotic surgical tool.